


Face to Face, My Lovely Foe

by The_Marron



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Akaashi and Bokuto kinda adopt Hinata, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Assassins, M/M, Some Humor, Superheroes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-16
Updated: 2020-03-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:47:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22755754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Marron/pseuds/The_Marron
Summary: Sometimes being a hero means fighting the bad guys.Other times it means adopting a kid who attracts trouble with a deadly assassin as a co-parent.Damn, Batman has iteasy.*Superhero/villain au very loosely inspired by suguru's work.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou
Comments: 21
Kudos: 112





	1. Chapter 1

Being a hero is easy. You beat up the bad guys, save innocent citizens, earn the love of a beautiful lady, preferably a journalist, and become a beacon of hope to everyone. Sure, sometimes you get a bad day, press blames you for everything, but your lady love and your group of friends are there to pick you up and support you throughout all of that. A true hero is never alone, even when he thinks he is, there is always someone out there for him to help him and to show him he is important.

Bokuto Koutarou was anything but a normal hero, it seemed.

The press barely noticed his appearance, all of his wonderful deeds attributed to the Tokyo police. The innocent citizen he managed to save mostly run away from him. His friends, though they do support him in their own way, cannot exactly join him on the battlefield – Kuroo, the main cause why Koutarou even started this hero business in the first place, the scientist whose experiment blew up in Koutarou’s face quite spectacularly, was not harmed or changed in any way. True, he makes sure Koutarou is in peak physical condition and is always there to talk to, but he doesn’t really get it – the feeling of power inside you that demands you to put it to good use. He worries, he teases and he comes up with the strangest costume designs ever, but he cannot be there when there is a robbery going on or when the building on fire collapses. He can’t be there because then Koutarou would have to worry about him too and make the worst possible choice of saving his friend or the people. No, Kuroo stays at home.

Koutarou is okay with this, he really is.

It just gets a bit lonely patrolling the roofs and knowing that no one would notice you gone until the morning.

Not that there are any supervillains Koutarou needs to be concerned about. It is a bit disappointing that the only enemies that he seems to be encountering are thieves, drunkards and an occasional gang member, just the yakuza goons, really.

Still, he does make a difference, he does some good in this city, so all is well.

Or was, until today.

It starts out normally, Koutarou is sitting on a roof of one of the offices buildings near the centre. He mostly has hotels and other offices around him, in fact there is a hotel right ahead of him now, Jasmine Palace, or something. Some people are asleep already, only a few rooms still have their lights on. Making a good use of his night vision Koutarou looks for trouble down the street. He never really bothers looking inside the buildings, assuming that the skyscrapers housing billion-yens worth businesses can take care of security themselves. There is nothing going on down on the streets, a few drunk businessmen leaving izekayas, nothing scandalous about it, not yet at least.

Koutarou glances at the hotel room right ahead of him, just out of boredom really.

And then he sees it - a figure all dressed in black clothes, with a strange mask on their face, concealing two knives somewhere around their hips. For a second, Koutarou thinks he noticed in time, that he can still intervene. But no, there is a dead body at the assassin’s feet. Police can deal with the body, then. Koutarou, the only witness to this crime, should pursue the murderer. And so he does.

The assassins seems not to notice him, for they seem not to be in any hurry. They take something from the deadman’s jacket and head for the window. Oh, if they are escaping through the window, then Koutarou’s in luck.

No matter how good the assassin is, they cannot fly.

Koutarou, the Owler, as the press calls him, can.

He spreads his wings and only when the assassin’s head snaps to look in his direction, does he realize his mistake. The hotel is not too far and any trained hitman would be able to pick up the sound of enormous wings being spread, especially with the window opened. This one is definitely trained, for when the initial surprise passes, they move with precision - they move back into the apartment, not bothering to close the window, definitely searching for a different escape route.

Koutarou is not going to let them.

He flies into the room as fast as he can without destroying anything – to support his height and weight, the wings are rather big and fitting them in the window is as bit problematic, but he trained for this, Kuroo made sure to think of every possible problem the wings might cause and then proceeded to give solutions. So, fitting in tight spaces – Koutarou is a pro at this point.

That does not mean that the hardest part is behind him – the assassin is nowhere to be seen. Koutarou allows his wings to retract into his body – still an awful and gross sensation, kinda unexplainable to this day, but it doesn’t matter. What matters is that he can move freely in the room. He tries to listen for a heartbeat, erratic breathing, anything that would tell him that the assassin is still in the room, but there is only silence.

Then, he hears it – fast footsteps on stairs. Someone is going up in a hurry. The assassin probably has someone waiting for him on a roof, but Koutarou is not taking any chances of losing them on any of the floors. He is confident he can keep up, so he runs to the staircase. He had played volleyball for most of his life, he can run at top speed for a while. The assassin probably can’t.

As he runs, Koutarou feels a strange rush in his veins, as if this is exactly what he had been waiting for all this time. He will finally do something grand, he will stop an assassin!

He can hear getting nearer, there is the erratic breathing he listened for – the assassin knows they are being followed but there is no way out now.

They get to the roof and Koutarou runs throughout the open door and stops.

There is no one to be seen.

The assassin is gone.

And then, he feels a cold blade on his nape.

“You are not in the contract.” Says a voice from behind him and Koutarou wants to curse at himself. The assassin somehow knew how excited Koutarou was and simply hid somewhere, allowing Koutarou to pass him in the rush of the hunt. It is such a _Top Gun_ move that Koutarou is reluctantly impressed. “I don’t need to kill you, so just let me go.” The voice continues and it is decidedly male. Alright, so a male assassin, most probably.

“I can’t. Killing people is exactly what I stand against, you know?” Koutarou replies, proud of how his voice does not waver.

“I’m sorry I offend your personal values, but this is my job and I prefer not to leave more bodies than specified in the contract. You are not making it easy for me.” The blade does not move, but Koutarou feels that there is more pressure added now. The edge does not cut him, not yet, but the threat is there.

“Yeah, that is hero’s job, you know?” There is a sigh behind him.

“I hate to use this argument, but here we go – this man was a mobster. He was going to be tried tomorrow and the bought judge was going to let him walk. To catch him again, you or the police would have to rake in a lot of evidence and even then there would be no guarantee that he would go behind the bars. Right now, he cannot harm anyone else.”

“So what, you are the hero now? You want me to let you go because you had a good reason?”

The man behind him scoffs.

“Money is always a good reason, doing your job is also a good reason… Anything is a good reason if you think about it hard enough. No, I’m not explaining myself to you, I’m giving you a good excuse for your conscience to let go and not die for nothing.”

Koutarou is a bit charmed by that, because it is nice to know someone doesn’t want to kill you that bad, but his morals are untouched. He waits for a right moment, pretending to think about the assassin’s words.

There, the exasperated intake of breath – that is his opening. He forces his wings to spring out, the momentum throwing the man off his back.

Unfortunately, that is the end of Koutarou’s good ideas, because the man is back on his feet. Only now can Koutarou see that the mask on the man’s face has black lines that shape something like an owl, the style reminder of an ANBU mask, as if the man was an old fan of Naruto when it was still cool. Unwillingly, Koutarou finds himself liking the assassin a bit more.

He would like him even more if he wasn’t charging at him with two knives he pulled out of who knows where.

Koutarou assumes a proper stance, ready to fight his way out of this, his suit should be enough to withstand the cuts, he is already planning the best moves he could use, when there is a loud _GWAH!_ to his right and the assassin stops in his tracks, his face turned towards the source of the noise.

There, right at the staircase, there stands a boy. A small, red-headed boy with his mouth wide-open and his eyes almost popping out of the sockets.

“Heroes are real! I knew it, I told Kageyama, but he wouldn’t believe me and I told him I saw someone flying up but he said I was stupid, but you are here and you are fighting and…!” Then the boy’s eyes stop at the assassin, who has hidden his knives away.

“Oh no, now the bad guy is going to take me hostage, oh no, I complicated everything, right? Please don’t kill me mister bad guy!” And out of a sudden the boy is crying. The assassin seems as perplexed as Koutarou feels. The poor child is now wailing loudly, muttering something about being too young and listening to sensei and it seems he is going to have an aneurism before the assassin even has the time to touch him. First priority should be to calm the kid down, Koutarou thinks.

“Err, as you can see, kiddo, we are not fighting anymore, it was just… sparring! This is my loyal companion and we were just training! He looks scary but he is alright and he would never take you hostage, right?” He stops here, aware that he has no way of convincing the man not to kill them both, but to his surprise, he sees the assassin nod his head slightly.

“The Owler is right. There was nothing worth our intervention happening, so we decided to train. I apologize if my outfit made you afraid.” The assassin says and the boy stops his cries, looking at them two with amazement.

“Really??? Wow, it is great, like, you are like Batman and Robin, you just go gawoosh! And bam! and you fight crime together, right?”

Koutarou nods and sees the assassin do the same. Oh, this is definitely a strange night. The strangest Koutarou ever had and he had one of his rescuees puke on him once.

“How did you get here…?” The assassin inquires, his voice surprisingly gentle.

“Oh, we were down on the street with Kageyama and I saw you fly upstairs, so I rushed here to prove to him that I saw somebody fly! He wouldn’t believe me, he never does and he always tells me to be more realistic, whatever that means and… And I don’t know if Kageyama is still down there so…” The boy frowns, deep in thought.

“Wait, you ran here? And no one stopped you, no bodyguard, no one?” The assassin asks, crouching down in front of the boy and Koutarou now sees the black hair picking out from behind the mask.

The boy smirks, his small body puffed up with pride.

“They tried to, but I’m too fast and too small, they will never…” Then, all three of them hear it – heavy steps and agitated shouts of bodyguards searching for an intruder.

“Oh, so maybe they will…” The boy gives them a sheepish smile.

“I think it is time to get off the roof, Owler.” 

“Oh, yes, you’re right… Hold on tight you both, we are going to fly!” Koutarou isn’t sure if his wings can carry three people, but he has no intention of letting the assassin go. He grabs him by the waist, as if this is the most natural thing in the world and the boy jumps into the assassin’s arms, now fully convinced he is in the safe hands. Koutarou trusts the other man as far as he can throw him, but he could’ve killed him and the boy both, yet he played along with Koutarou’s ploy, so maybe he isn’t completely evil.

They take off the roof, thankfully with no guards on their tail and Koutarou realizes that no, his wings cannot really carry all of them. He can glide, but that is all.

“Here, look to the left – there is a parking lot, can you land there?” The assassin asks and Koutarou strains all of his power to redirect their flight there. They have a brutal crash landing few seconds later and Koutarou hopes the other two are in a better shape than him. Everything hurts, breathing hurts, damn it!

Still, he gets up, because this is what heroes do, and he sees the assassin curled up around the boy, possibly trying to shield him from the landing. Oh, so he really isn’t all that evil.

The boy seems to be in a good shape, because the moment the assassin releases his hold on him, the kid jumps up and shouts “This was amazing!!!” and Koutarou shushes him. Oh, this has to be the first time he ever shushed anyone. Normally it is him who has to be reminded to be quiet. Look at him, evolving into a responsible adult!

“Okay kiddo, time to go home. Tell us where you live, we will deliver you there, you call your friend to tell him you are okay and please, do not run up buildings again. You could’ve been hurt!” Koutarou says, embracing his spirit of adulthood in the fullest. 

The kid sighs heavily.

"I don't want to. My Granny only complains that I'm too loud and she wouldn't want to listen about you, she would just make me go to sleep, that's no fun." He says with a pout. Cute.

"Not everything good for you is fun. But even we are going to go home after walking you, so you won't miss anything interesting." The assassin interjects and Koutarou is a bit amazed - a professional killer good with kids, that is not something you see often, unless you are a big fan of _Leon._

"Okay, fine." The boy says, a bit appeased. "Are you really going to walk me in the costumes?" Oooh, the kid has a point. They would attract a lot of attention and taking rooftops might be out of question, if Koutarou doesn't want to lose the assassin. If only he had something like a batmobile, or an invisible jet...

"I think my car is somewhere here." The assassin says and Koutarou blinks in confusion. What a coincidence!

"That's so cool! Is it shaped like an owl?!" Oh, if only! How awesome would that be? The Owl mobile, that's the idea, he should totally convince Kuroo to build one.

" Not really, just a normal one. Give me a minute..." Ah, so that's his plan! To run away pretending to search for his car! 

"There it is!" There is a beeping sound and the locks open somewhere. Koutarou notices the keys disappearing into the assassin's pocket. So maybe not the evil escape plan. Maybe.

The three of them make their way to an unassuming black car three rows from them and the assassin manages to convince the kid to fasten the safety belt, which the kid does with mild complaining.

Only when they are all sitting inside, with the assassin turning on the engine, Koutarou is hit in the face with the bizarre situation he is in. It's like looking into the abyss and seeing something stare back, so he tries to focus on something else.

"Hey, what's your name, kid. You've never told us!"

The boy straightens in the backseat, trying to muster as much dignity as he can, it seems.

"I am Hinata Shoyo and I am ten! My favourite sport is volleyball and I'm going to be very tall when I grow up!" Ten? The kid looks seven years old tops, so that particular plan might backfire a bit, but Koutarou is not going to crush the child's dreams so soon. 

"And you... You are the Owler, I've heard about you from the news! I never knew there was two of you, though!" The kid beams at them both and Koutarou is hit with a wave of guilt for lying to him.

"I prefer to stay in the shadows. That's why I dress in black clothes." The assassin replies, not looking away from the road. How does he drive in this mask?

"Oooh, that makes sense! And you have an owl on your mask so that every bad villain knows you are the Owler's companion!"

"Something like that." There is a trace of amusement in the assassin's voice and Koutarou is a bit taken aback by how different the man is when he is not trying to eliminate Koutarou from the world of the living. 

"What's your name?"

"You can call me Akaashi."

Oh. Akaashi... That's an owl, right? The assassin is good, the Owler would totally have a sidekick called Akaashi. Owlboy sounds a bit tacky, but Akaashi... Kinda like Robin. The guy is good at thinking on his feet, that's dangerous.

Koutarou looks at him now, closely, trying to learn more about his opponent/temporary ally. 

He is a bit shorter than Koutarou, he has black hair, pleasant voice and grace of a dancer. He also drives with a quiet purpose as if he knows exactly where he is headed and that gives Koutarou a pause.

"Where are we going?" 

"To Hinata's home, of course."

"He never gave you the address?"

"The name is enough." Okay, creepy and a little badass. 

They drive for a while in a strange silence, when Hinata's whisper breaks the quiet.

"Psst, Owler, can I be a hero too?" 

This is it. This is Koutarou's moment in the sun! He had been perfecting the speech for ages, since he got the wings he knew he would be able to inspire some young, innocent soul!

"You see Hinata, everyone can be a hero! Of course, not everyone can be as awesome as me, because I have wings and you, know, I'm basically and owl, you don't get better than this, but if you really want to and you have courage in your heart, you can be the best hero that ever was!"

"You should also train and know the law, otherwise the cops will arrest you." The assassin interrupts, his voice a perfect deadpan.

"Akaashi! You can't just say that!"

Hinata chuckles.

"So I don't need superpowers?"

Koutarou turns to look at him.

"Nope! The greatest superpower is caring about others and confidence in your skills!"

"And also money for the suit."

"Akaashi, you are banned from talking to Hinata, you will cause him depression."

"I would like to be friends with someone so we could be as good friends as you two." Oh, kid, if you only knew...

"What about the boy you were with, Kageyama?" Akaashi asks. Oh, so he has a good memory too. Koutarou hates it when his opponents are too competent. 

Hinata seems saddened by the question.

"We play volleyball together, but he doesn't like me, I think...He always calls me stupid."

"He wouldn't hang out with you if he didn't like you! Maybe he is just shy?" Koutarou offers. Hinata perks up a bit.

Then, the car suddenly stops.

"We are here."

When they get out, Koutarou notices that they are in front of a rather ugly block of flats. It looks simply bleak. There is no way a kid with do much energy and enthusiasm comes from such a gloomy place.

"It seems my grandma is waiting for me, the light in her room is on." Hinata doesn't sound ectatic, but he dutifully moves towards the gate.

"Thank you for today! I am so happy I could meet you!!!" He exclaims and waves at them.

"No problem. Take care of yourself, kid!" Koutarou replies, waving back.

"Don't go looking for trouble." Akaashi offers and gives Hinata a little wave. That seems to be enough for the boy, because he gives them a big, toothy grin and sprints through the gate.

They both watch him disappear in the building. Only when Hinata is out of sight and out of earshot, Koutarou turns to Akaashi.

"So... I think that's it. You can surrender and I will make sure they give you a lighter sentence."

The assassin shrugs a bit.

"Not how it works. My boss doesn't need your head, not yet at least, so I'm just going to..." 

"You are not going anywhere!" Koutarou exclaims, blocking the car with his wings. "You should have positioned yourself better, now I have your means of transport."

Akaashi doesn't look troubled.

"There is only one problem, Owler."

"Oh?"

"That's not my car."

Something clicks and suddenly Koutarou's vision is obscured by a thick cloud of gas that stings his eyes and thightens his throat.

"Hopefully I will never see you again, partner."

And with that, Akaashi is gone. When the smoke or whatever that was clears out, Koutarou's eyes are filled with tears, his nose hurts an awful lot.

Damn. 

He didn't find himself a Robin.

Still, he kind hoped to see the assassin again, if only to bring him to justice.

Despite the terrible state of his eyes, Koutarou delivers the car back to the parking lot it was taken from, hoping that its true owner was still alive to see it returned.

Then again, apparently Akaashi doesn't kill if he doesn't have to, so maybe...

He seems nice, despite his profession. Good with kids, has some snark on him, he is frightfully competent and just... Cool. It would be great if he was really a partner Koutarou could trust.

Finally on his way home, back in civilian clothes does it hit him.

He rushes to the flat and we wakes Kuroo up to scream in his face:

"Bro, I think I found my Catwoman!"

Kuroo simply groans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Actually, if you think about it, Akaashi is more like Cheshire than Catwoman, but I do not expect Bokuto to have encyclopedic knowledge of DC famme fatales, so there.
> 
> This whole au was inspired by suguru's art and comics about Hero!Bokuto and Villain!Akaashi, so of you liked thia chapter, check out their Tumblr, this stuff is awesome!
> 
> As always, I love comments, so feel free to feed me some :3
> 
> Title is from Souxie and The Banshees' song 'Face to Face' from 'Batman Returns'.


	2. Chapter 2

It takes Koutarou a bank robbery, a bus accident, a hostage situation in a museum, a fire in the shopping mall and finally, what is going to evolve into a yakuza shoot out to realize that:

a) Hinata is either to most unlucky kid in Japan or is actively looking for trouble, because he is always just there and,

b) Akaashi either stalks Hinata, stalks Koutarou, or is somehow involved in every crime in Tokyo.

It shouldn’t be possible for them to run into each other so often, and yet here they are, once again – Koutarou in his Owler costume, hidden in the shadows, eavesdropping through the window on the negotiations between two gangs; Akaashi in his mask standing behind the Nakamura leader, a silent threat in case the other family, the Yoshino’s breaks the treaty and finally, Hinata – a red-haired boy of ten stumbling into the most shady izekaya in this part of the city, because of course he is. 

Koutarou moves from his hiding spot in the alley and bursts through the window – gang leaders won’t take kindly to anyone discovering their secret meeting, and Hinata is not exactly stealthy. However, Koutarou’s epic entrance is a bit overshadowed by a commotion already going on inside. When Koutarou wasn’t looking, Akaashi somehow managed to get Hinata behind him and they were both making their way to the kitchen, accompanied by loud shots fired by both gangs.

“Five!!!” The Nakamura leader shouts in rage and Koutarou is a bit confused as to what the hell he means by that, then the man continues. “Five, you bloody traitor! Come back with the child and your master may not lose you just yet.” 

Oh, so Akaashi’s professional name is not, in fact, Akaashi. The more you know. Still, "Five" does not sound like anything super-remarkable, so Koutarou is going to stick with Akaashi. If they make it through this, though.

Because as Akaashi disappears behind the kitchen door with Hinata in his tow, Koutarou is left with two angry mobs glaring at him. Damn. Kuroo promised the suit is bulletproof, but would it still work if a dozen people shot him in the same place at the same time?

Not waiting to find out, the Owler spreads his wings and gets ready to kick some yakuza ass, or die trying, when he hears a loud hissing noise and the izekaya fills with grey gas. Koutarou has seen enough Batman movies to know that this is his time to go. As the yakuza lackeys are busy coughing and shouting, he quietly makes his way outside, this time choosing the door. He could stay and fight but at this moment, he is more interested in Hinata’s well-being. Aaand the mobsters have guns, lots of them and owl wings are not exactly super-effective against guns. He will have to ask Kuroo about counter-gun measures in the future, because meeting Hinata has made his life so much more dangerous lately.

When he is outside Koutarou bums straight into Akaashi and Hinata, who are quite obviously waiting for him.

“Good. I was worried I would have to get you out of there by force, you are not prepared to fight them just yet.”

That is uncalled for.

“Akaashi, you can’t just say that! Not in front of the kid!” The assassin lets out something like a amused snort.

“Akaashi-san! What were you doing with the bad guys?” Hinata pipes in and Koutarou is grateful – he wanted to ask the same, but it would be really suspicious if he didn’t know his own partner’s plans, right?

“Spying on them, of course. And I would have got away with this, if it wasn’t for you two.” Akaashi replies, a trace of amusement clear in his voice.

“Unfair!” Koutarou shouts and then looks at Hinata, who did the same.

Akaashi sighs.

“Owler would have handled it, I guess, but you, Hinata… What were you thinking, just randomly entering an izekaya in this part of the city, this late at night?”

Hinata lowers his head and mumbles something that even Koutarou’s enhanced hearing cannot catch.

“And now repeat please, because I think both me and the Owler are really interested in your answer.”

Hinata’s head snaps up.

“I said: ‘I saw you and wanted to say hi!’” The boy shouts and Koutarou looks at Akaashi, waiting for his reaction. The owl mask gives nothing away, but Koutarou thinks that the assassin is a bit surprised and is frantically searching for something to say.

So this time, it’s Koutarou’s Responsible Adult Time.

“Kid,” he says, crouching down to be at the boy’s eye level.”We are honoured that you like us and that you want to greet us and hang out with us, but don’t risk your life to do that. Nothing bad happened today, thankfully, but other times all three of us may not be so lucky. Your safety would be always our priority and because of that we won’t be able to fight crime as well as we would like. Today we wanted to stop mafia from doing bad things but we couldn’t.”

Hinata’s eyes filled with tears.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t want to be a bother, please don’t hate me!!!” Oh man, that backfired spectacularly. Lost, Koutarou looks to Akaashi, who sighs so deeply that his shoulders sag.

“Hinata, what the Owler is saying is: you are important to us and we care about your well-being and because of that, we worry. We worry more about you than about our mission sometimes, but we are not angry. We are happy nothing bad happened to you, but we would be more happy knowing that you too take care of yourself. Don’t look for trouble, Hinata.” The assassin says, and Koutarou nods enthusiastically.

“And if you really need to talk, don’t rush into crime scenes, just call.” And here Akaashi gave Hinata a sleek-looking black card. Damn the kid has better game than him, Koutarou wants Akaashi’s number too!

When Koutarou looks at Hinata, the boy has literal stars in his eyes and his eyes rest on Koutarou, clearly expecting something.

It takes Koutarou a second and when he gets it, he splutters.

“I’d love to give you my number, I really would but I do not have nice visiting cards with me, I mean sure, I probably have some, or should have some, but I don’t, so… Do you have a marker?” Before Hinata can reply there are shouts behind them and a group of very disgruntled mobsters leave the izekaya waving their guns around. Oh, yeah, Koutarou forgot about them. In retrospect, maybe they shouldn't have had this heart-warming talk right in front of a mafia hideout.

“We run?” He confirms with Akaashi and the assassin nods.

“We run.”

The Owler’s wings flutter and before any of the gunmen hits them, he flies away with now familiar weigh of two people in his arms. Good thing he actually had a workout for that.

The night ends up with Koutarou and Akaashi walking Hinata home yet again, and Koutarou realizes that at this point he knows almost every route in Tokyo leading to this particular block of flats. He finally gives Hinata his number and the boy looks at him as if he had given him the best Christmas gift ever. It makes Koutarou swell with pride.

After Hinata disappears, Koutarou makes a valiant attempt to catch Akaashi, but his heart is not in it, so he lets the assassin go without much fight.

Because he doesn’t want to catch him really, not because his eyes are too teary due to Akaashi spreading yet another gas around them. That’s what he tells Kuroo at least.

Kuroo just grins and moves to his lab trying to figure out how to make the suit more bulletproof.

*

There are times when he meets Akaashi without Hinata. Those times, Koutarou must say his head becomes a mess, more than it usually is. Because without Hinata there is no reason for them to get along and plenty of reasons for Akaashi to finally kill him. There are also very good reasons for Koutarou to fight Akaashi, arrest him and bring him to justice, because _Akaashi, that kills people_! And yet, the next time the meet, no Hinata in sight, their fight seems more like a dance than like real combat.

“You’re a bit sweet on me, aren’t you?” He asks one night, blocking Akaashi’s well-aimed punch. It was well-aimed, but it carried no substantial strength, so it was no threat to the Owler at all.

“Not really. I’m bad at lying though, so I always wonder what I would say to Hinata if you end up dead by my hand.” Akaashi replies, dropping low to sweep Koutarou off his feet. He succeeds and Koutarou looks up at him from his position on the ground. Akaashi makes no move to finish him off.

“Just tell him you wanted to go solo and I didn’t let you go. We had a fight and boom, it was an accident!” He offers as he gets up. Akaashi looks at his knife as he waits for Koutarou to get his bearings.

“Oh, yes, that sounds believable. ‘He accidentally ran into my knife, Hinata. He ran into it twenty-seven times at very strange angles,’ that would totally fly.” The assassin quips at him and they are back to their duel, Koutarou armed with only his fists, Akaashi a knife firm in his hands, yet not slashing at Koutarou at all.

“I’ve been possessed and tried to become a super-villain.” Koutarou offers, getting a good hit into Akaashi’s ribs. The assassin stumbles and Koutarou’s first reflex is to comfort him and check if everything is alright. That is worrying.

“You would never do that. Your will is too strong for that, Hinata would never believe it.” Akaashi wheezes out and Koutarou is floored.

“You really think so! Akaashi, it seems like you really believe I’m a hero, how awesome is that???!” He stops fighting altogether because that is really unexpected. No one really treats him seriously – the police still believes he is just a crazy teen drunk on Marvel movies, the criminals think he is a joke and not capable of being a real threat and the media write about him when there is nothing new going on. The only ones who believe he was doing something worthwhile is Kuroo and quite recently Hinata. To learn that Akaashi, a freaking assassin that could kill him in thirty different ways actually considers him a hero? That is big, that is enormous and Koutarou’s poor heart cannot take this wave of pure _awesomeness_ that fills it.

“Why aren’t you trying to get me arrested?” Akaashi asks getting his composure back and straightening his back, the pain from the hit possibly subsiding a bit. Koutarou is glad, he would hate it if he managed to hurt the man.

“Akaashi, I thought that it was obvious!”

“It was?”

“I’m trying to seduce you into the side of good for you to become my partner for real!”

Koutarou cannot see Akaashi’s expression from behind the owl mask, but he is pretty sure that he is left a bit speechless. Serves him right, he is not the only smooth talker here!

Their fight ends up with them teaming up against some strange group of thieves that decided that their roof was exactly the place for them to escape from. Koutarou ends up with a few scratches and bruises, but he is overall okay. Akaashi who dealt with two pseudo-ninjas of the group is unscathed, the only causality of war seems to be his mask, which is nowhere to be seen.

Wait.

“Akaashi…” The assassin looks up at him and Bokuto is lost.

Why are the villains always ethereally pretty?

Black hair, pale skin, sharp eyebrows and those beautiful green eyes… Wow. Catwoman has _nothing_ on Akaashi.

Koutarou is in a daze until the end of the night, he hardly remembers Akaashi’s timely escape and the police’s arrival. He doesn’t even remember what he tells Kuroo after he comes back to their shared flat.

He only remembers Akaashi’s perfect face and the fact that for some reason, this wonderful creature thinks that him, Bokuto Koutarou, is worthy to be called a hero.

 _Wow_.

*

When he gets a call from Hinata, he expects to see the boy in danger, held at a gun point or something equally terrifying. So when he arrives at one o’clock in the park Hinata told him about, he is a bit surprised to see Akaashi sitting on a bench with a steaming cup in his hands, his mask gone, talking to Hinata as if this was the most normal thing to do in the middle of the night when one is a renowned assassin.

“Err… I’m guessing you are not in trouble?” Koutarou starts, trying not to be too obvious while staring at Akaashi’s face.

“I am in _great_ trouble, Owler!” Hinata exclaims with all the dramatism of a ten-year old. Koutarou sits down and accepts a cup Akaashi hands him. It seems to be tea and it’s hot and kinda perfect, because Akaashi gives it to him.

“I gathered you here because….” Here, Hinata’s voice betrayed him and sadness broke through the bravado.

“I called you because you are the only adults I could call, really.” Akaashi gives Koutarou a look and Koutarou simply nods, ready to stay silent and focus on whatever Hinata is going to tell them.

“You see, me and Kageyama are friends, right? And he is strange and sometimes nasty, but he is good at volleyball, and he plays with me and never gets tired and he teaches me a lot of things. He is kinda great. But there is this other kid, Miya something and he picks on Kageyama all the time and he is also good at volleyball and he mocks Kageyama and me all the time. Yesterday we argued a lot and Miya’s classmates and brother got involved, and our classmates came to help us and it turned into this big fight, you wouldn’t believe! And Suga-sensei told me that Miya’s teacher said that I shouldn’t go on a school trip because I’m such a trouble maker and Miya has a black eyes because of me, but it wasn’t because of me, okay? I just…bumped into him and…” Hinata paused to catch some breath and Koutarou used the silence to process everything that was said.

“So it was that Miya guy’s fault?” He asks, just to be sure.

Hinata nods so violently he almost loses his footing.

“Yes! And he can go to the trip and I can’t but I really want to, because we are going to Sochi and that’s where the Olympics were and I really want to see it! But me and Kageyama are banned, except that Kageyama parents talked to Miya’s teacher and he finally let him and me… My grandma cannot come to talk with him. She is probably convinced it was my fault and even if she wasn’t, she is on a trip with Natsu and the trip is in two days and I really need someone to talk to him, and I thought, I know two heroes, heroes should be good enough to convince him, right?”

Wow. Can they do that? Sure, he would love to help Hinata, but can they pretend to be Hinata’s parents? Is this even allowed in Japan? Would they have to pretend to be married? Oh God, would they??? That is romcom just witing to happen, they might as well go on the trip with Hinata and turn out to be roommates… _Oh my god, they would be roommates_! Koutarou’s internal romantic is interrupted by Akaashi, because of course he is.

“Hinata. Are you convinced you didn’t hit Miya on purpose?”

“I’m sure! I didn’t want to fight at all, I just wanted to get Miya way from Kageyama! I hit him with my elbow by accident.” Hinata replied, his face intense, full of self-righteousness.

“Alright. Then we will help you.”

Huh?

Koutarou looks at Akaashi in surprise, but says nothing. Akaashi simply looks at him for a moment and then a small smile makes its way to his lips.

“We are hero partners after all, aren’t we?”

_Low blow, Akaashi, low blow._

*

They meet outside of Hinata’s school as they agreed the night before and only then do all of the things that could wrong hit Koutarou in the face.

They could be caught for pretending they were someone they were not, their secret identities might be discovered and then Akaashi would obligated to kill the teacher and all of them including Hinata would have to live on the run and Kuroo would be abandoned and he will become resentful and turn into a supervillain and even Kenma’s love would not be enough to stop him from world domination and…

“Excuse me?” Calls a voice to his left and Koutarou turns to be met with his doom.

If his heart had a problem with looking at Akaashi in his black assassin clothes, looking at Akaashi in glasses, in a well-fitted shirt and black trousers is what sends it into cardiac arrest.

He suddenly finds his persona for this meeting, he would be that parent who is silent because they are too busy staring at their spouse and wondering what good they have done in their previous life to land _that_. Akaashi will do the talking, Koutarou will simply look. Perfect plan.

“Are you Hinata’s father, by any chance?” Akaashi asks and Koutarou is reminded of the fact that Akaashi has not, in fact, seen him without the Owler’s mask before.

“Yup, and so are you, ‘Kaashi.” He responds with a grin, trying to come off as casual and friendly and not enamored and desperate.

Akaashi smiles.

“I thought so. Do you always style your hair to look like an owl, or was it just for me to recognize you?”

“You will never know, darling.” Here, Koutarou winks and immediately wants to die, because really, Koutarou, that’s the best you can do?

“How do I call you? _Darling?_ ” Akaashi cocks an eyebrow at him and Koutarou is pretty sure that Akaashi could call him anything and he would be still happy to have his attention.

“I’m Bokuto Koutarou. And I trust you with my real name here and I hope not to see you tonight with knives, lurking in the darkness of my flat over the dead body of my roommate.”

“You have a roommate?” At Koutarou’s questioning look, Akaashi sighs.

“I’m not omniscient, Bokuto-san. I knew where Hinata lived because I have an acquaintance who lives nearby and told me about Hinata a bit. So no, it would take me at least a day to know everything about your address, your roommate and your underground lab.”

At Koutarou’s alarmed look, Akaashi simply chuckles and moves towards the school gate.

Right, parenting time.

*

Okay, so Koutarou’s initial plan – him a good cop, Akaashi a scary, scary assassin didn’t work out. Mostly because the teacher is an _asshole_ and for some reason he clearly has some problem with the kid and was simply waiting for the right time and opportunity to act.

“You can’t just punish one kid for being clumsy when two whole classes took part in this mess willingly!” Koutarou roars, jumping out from his chair, but the teacher, Sasada-sensei or whatever his name is, is not moved.

“Hinata Shoyo provoked the fight.” Koutarou is going to strangle this man, really, this is his villain origin backstory, because seriously, who let this man to work with children? This system is corrupted, Koutarou sees it now. Before he can start his path as a serial killer of bad teachers, Akaashi places his hand on Koutarou’s shoulders. It calms him down for some reason.

“Can you prove it?” Akaashi asks, his voice icy.

“Excuse me?”

“Can you prove that Shoyo started the fight? From what I’ve heard, you only have the testimony of the other boy involved in the scuffle, Miya-kun, who obviously wouldn’t confess if he was guilty. So, do you have any other way of proving that Hinata started it? Or was it exactly what you wanted to hear and believed in it instantly?”

Wow, Akaashi sounded… Furious. In a calm, collected way, but Koutarou would really hate to be in Sasada’s shoes now. Especially given the fact that Akaashi did in fact know how to kill a man and get rid of the body.

“I…” The teacher seems to get that too, because he no longer looks so sure of himself. “I have nothing to say to you! You are not his parents, no documentation mentions you and you have no right to be here!”

Akaashi stands up.

“Me and my partner have every right to be here. If you check your documentation again you will see that after the death of his parents, Shoyo is under the protection of his grandmother and his uncle." The teacher looks donw at the papers in front of him and raises his eyebrows in shock.

"I’m Akaashi Keji, brother of Hinata Aiko. Shoyo is my nephew.”

Koutarou simply blinks.

_What._


	3. Chapter 3

Sasada-sensei doesn’t even bother with arguing after that. He sits down with a perplexed expression on his face and simply marks Hinata Shoyo as ‘attending’. Akaashi nods and with moves to leave, with just a quiet goodbye breaking the silence of the room.

Koutarou’s brain needs a moment to catch up with everything that happened, but thankfully this time it decides action is more important.

He gets up, startling the man behind the desk and makes for the door.

“Goodbye, sensei!” He shouts on his way out and runs towards the exist, hoping that Akaashi decided to leave the building normally, not in his ninja-style. This time Koutarou’s intuition is right. Akaashi is making his way towards the school gate, but there is no smoke around him and he is still visible, so Koutarou makes use of his volleyball-trained muscles and sprints towards him.

“Akaashi! Wait!” To his credit, the assassin and newly-proclaimed Hinata’s uncle stops.

“What else do you need me for, Bokuto-san?”

“I thought maybe we could… talk? I mean, I don’t want to inconvenience you, or anything, I just thought…” He stammers, as Akaashi looks straight into his eyes with his steely green ones. They are so pretty. And sad, as Koutarou now notices. “Look, I obviously don’t know the full story and I won’t ask you anything if you want, but I think you shouldn’t be alone now?”

Akaashi simply looks at him, as if searching for some kind of trap in Koutarou’s words. Koutarou’s brain decides to go further.

“We are partners now, even if just for today, so let me… I don’t know, treat you to coffee, or something? Because you look really distraught and I won’t feel at ease until I help you in some way and, well… I’m not sure what to say next, so just say ‘yes’?” He tries and there is a twinkle in Akaashi’s eyes that may be amusement.

“Tea sounds alright.” He finally says and Koutarou beams at him. _Awesome!_

*

They find a small tea shop somewhere along the way between the school and Hinata’s block of flats. The place is not exactly super-fancy, but it is looks old and cosy, so Koutarou likes it instantly. He hopes Akaashi likes it too.

They order their drinks, Akaashi choosing some white tea with a name Koutarou won’t even try to pronounce, opting for normal black tea for himself.

They sit in silence while waiting for their orders and Koutarou really, really wants to talk but judging from Akaashi’s face, the man is having some internal battle within himself and maybe Koutarou shouldn’t interrupt him? Still, sitting in silence is always hard and uncomfortable and…

Their teas arrive and Akaashi murmurs a small ‘thank you’ to the waiter. Without waiting, he takes a sip of something that looks like simple water to Koutarou’s eyes, yet the face he makes is that of pure relaxation. Koutarou can only stare.

“I guess since you are already a part of this mess I should tell you everything.” Akaashi finally says, putting down his cup.

“You don’t have to! I mean, I would sure like to know what’s going on but you have no obligation to tell me anything, you know?” Koutarou says, feeling like the Good Listener TM and hating himself at the same time because he really, really wants to know.

“Unfortunately, Bokuto-san, now it is the matter of your safety.” Oh. _Oooh_. Not fun, then. Koutarou takes a sip of his own tea and hates it instantly. Coffee, coffee is much better for dramatic reveals.

“Let’s start with Hinata – I’m truly his uncle. We have never met before this year, and if I could, I would do anything to ensure we haven’t met at all. That is why I’m asking you for your discretion, Bokuto-san. No matter what happens, Shoyo cannot know. That would be safer for him.”

“Alright, I won’t tell, but… why?”

Akaashi looks tired all of a sudden.

“It’s a long story.”

“I’m willing to listen, if you are willing to share, partner.”

Here, Akaashi gives him a weak smile. Still, Koutarou counts this as a victory.

“My sister and her husband were working as detectives – I’m not sure if they were private detectives, or if they worked for some international organization. After middle school my parents and I moved to Sapporo and since my sister was ten years older than me, we’ve never really talked all that much. She had Shoyo when I was sixteen. My parents went back to Tokyo to meet him but I stayed because of school. I saw his pictures of course and I’ve sent her best wishes and everything, but we never met after I moved to Sapporo.”

“Not even for holidays?”

Akaashi looks down and Koutarou feels like an asshole for asking.

“I thought I was destined for great things when I was in high school. I studied all the time hoping to get into Tohoku University, create a cure for cancer or something like that. I had the drive and self-assurance that if I tried, I could do it. So I never had the time. As you can imagine, I regret it deeply.”

Koutarou simply nods, apology ready on his lips, but Akaashi shakes his head.

“At the same time, Aiko and Kenta discovered something. They were building a case against the international organization that was involved in pretty much everything. Drugs, trafficking, everything. Unfortunately, this organization was faster than the Hinatas. The day I was supposed to start my first year at Tohoku, I got the call – my sister and her husband died in a fire. Their house burned to the ground. Officially, it was an accident.”

“God, Akaashi, I’m so sorry.”

Akaashi simply takes another sip of his tea, but Koutarou can see how affected he truly is.

“My parents were so shocked… The doctors say that they probably died of age, but I think their hearts simply broke. They died two months after Aiko. Shoyo and Natsu, a girl born right before the accident were thankfully with their grandma, Kenta’s mother, when the fire happened, so they were unscathed. “

Kotarou simply nods. What else can he do? The story sound painful and frankly, Koutarou would probably become a non-functioning mess if this happened to him.

“I wanted to come back to Tokyo as soon as possible of course. I wanted to take custody over Shoyo and Natsu, even though I was nineteen at the time, I was sure I could pull it off. Before I left however, I got a visit from the League of Shadows. A nice man in a suit told me that people responsible for Aiko’s death were not done. They didn’t believe in leaving anyone ready to take up the research, so Hinata and Natsu, as well as me, were next.”

“That’s why you never met Hinata… err, Shoyo? To protect him?”

“Yes, Bokuto-san. The League offered me protection for me and my relatives as long as I do what they order me to do.” Here, Akaashi looks away, as if ashamed of the choice he had made.

“Akaashi, anyone would choose to protect their family, you know? There is nothing wrong with that.”

“There is plenty of things wrong with killing people though.”

Koutarou doesn’t have a good argument for that. They sit in silence once again, the heavy air almost suffocating. Koutarou desperately searches for something to ask, something to let Akaashi know that he understands…

“Why did the League approach you? I mean, they had a good reason to believe you will agree, but do they recruit everyone?”

“No. I told you, I wanted to become a doctor. So I am pretty good with Chemistry and Biology, always have been. Gases I use are my own compounds. First, they needed my knowledge, then they trained me. The organization my sister wanted to bust is something of a rival to the League so they needed people ready to bring the organization down.”

“You can’t just leave?”

“No. Not unless I want the League to get Shoyo and Natsu.”

Koutarou ponders on that. Maybe there is a way to get both kids and their grandma away? But if the organization is really everywhere… The risk is too big. The only option is to bring down both the nameless organization and the League of Shadows which would not appreciate their man backing off from the deal.

“I could help you. I mean, I know I’m just an aspiring hero now, than a beacon of hope, but I think together we would stand a chance, Akaashi. Maybe _we_ should follow up on you sister’s research.”

Akaashi simply shakes his head.

“Everything burned with the house.”

“We can find new evidence! They are still active, aren’t they? They still commit crimes, we can still get them!”

Akaashi just stares at him, as if this is the first time he sees someone like Koutarou. It is a bit flattering. It is also a bit unnerving.

“Bokuto-san… I appreciate your courage, I really do. But everything I told you was not for you to help me. It was to warn you.”

“Warn me?”

“One day they are going to notice you. And if they order me to kill you, I might not have an option to decline.”

*

Next few weeks it seems that Akaashi is avoiding him. The Owler is out almost every night, patrolling the city to the best of his ability, and aside from a few scuffles and one very flashy break-in, there is nothing. Koutarou meets up with Hinata a few times, the poor kid looking more miserable with ever encounter.

“Where is Akaashi?” He asks Koutarou one evening and Koutarou’s heart breaks a little. This poor kid, not knowing why his parents died, not knowing why his uncle does not meet him…

“I don’t know. I think he went undercover again, but I cannot contact him.” He admits and Hinata deflates.

“I’ve send him photos from the trip to Sochi, the one you helped me with and he never replied.” The boy says and Koutarou really wants to tell him that everything is going to be fine, but frankly, he doesn’t know himself. What if Akaashi truly got an order to kill Koutarou? What if he was already in his and Kuroo’s flat? What if he got inspired by Koutarou’s enthusiasm and went against the League and is now imprisoned or dead? What if they put him on ice and brainwashed him so the next time they meet he will ask ‘Who the hell is Akaashi?’. But these are Koutarou’s worries, Hinata should not think that anything is wrong, he reminds himself.

“I think he is alright. He is great at what he does, he is smart and brave he will come back soon, just you see! Before he does, however, remember to take care of yourself! Otherwise he will… stare at you. Evilly.” Koutarou threatens and Hinata finally smiles.

Good. Koutarou really wants to have the same hope.

*

When he meets Akaashi again, it is in the middle of a battle.

Koutarou is not sure why he assumed that Akaashi is the only assassin in Tokyo, but as tonight has proven, it was a wrong assumption.

The Owler was simply giving a speech to two drug dealers in an alley, when there was a shot and he felt pain in his back.

Thankfully, Kuroo wasn’t joking when he said that the Owler’s costume was now mostly bulletproof. The drug dealers run, screaming, and Koutarou is left alone with someone shooting at him. His first thought, he is ashamed of it, is that it’s Akaashi. But then he remembers that Akaashi doesn’t use guns. And really, Akaashi would never try to shoot anyone in the back.

Koutarou flies up in the air and sees a dark shape running away from him through the nearest rooftop. The figure doesn’t even move like Akaashi. Not graceful enough.

“That hurt, you bastard!” Koutarou hollers and swoops down to pin the new assassin to the ground. Unfortunately, the man is fast and he jumps away.

His mask is similar to Akaashi’s, but instead of an owl, there is a… snake? Something reptilian is painted on the mask and Koutarou feels the relief settle in his bones. So, definitely not Akaashi.

“I feel honoured, am I worthy of killing now?”

The assassin doesn’t reply, just aims his gun at Koutarou and truly, Koutarou is ready, he is bulletproof and pumped, he can do this. Then, the man looks to his left.

“Seven! Back away from my target.” Oh. Now Akaashi decides to appear.

“Your target? I don’t think so. I was assigned.” The snake-guy replies, and Koutarou doesn’t like his tone at all.

“Impossible.” Akaashi insists and the conviction in his tone makes the other assassin pause.

“Maybe they thought you are not up for it? You’re slipping, Five.” He finally says, but he doesn’t sound so sure.

“I have impeccable record. No failures. How am I slipping?” Akaashi retorts, his tone cold and haughty, unlike anything Koutarou has heard before.

“I heard you got too close to someone on the other side. Getting chummy with the police, the rumour has it?” Oooh. Koutarou would laugh really, if it happened to someone else. The snake-guy probably meant him. It is worrying that Akaashi’s bosses seem to know something, it is a relief that they have no names to offer. Unless Akaashi was busy romancing some poor policeman these past weeks, which Koutarou hopes, is not the case.

“Err, guys? So maybe I will just go and you will settle this between the two of you?” He offers, making sure to act as if he has never seen Akaashi in his life before.

“Nah, I don’t think so. What do you say, Five? The first one to get him collects the bounty?” The snake… Seven, Koutarou thinks, suggests and Akaashi simply nods. Well, shit.

Koutarou gets ready to fight both assassins at the same time but frankly, his training might not be enough. His last hope would be for Akaashi to switch sides or pretend to faint, to make the odds even.

The assassins jump on him, and Koutarou is overwhelmed. He tries to par both of them to the best of his ability, but to no avail. He feels their kicks, he feels slashes of the knife, probably Akaashi’s, because they are not too deep. Still, they hurt as hell. He manages to punch Seven in the face and he gets a powerful kick in the ribs for his troubles.

Then, as he falls down, there is Akaashi right in front of him, fighting Seven in his stead. There is a shot and a dull thud of a knife lodging into someone’s chest, and both assassins fall down almost simultaneously.

Koutarou gets up immediately, ignoring the pain in his abdomen – the cuts can wait, He wants to check on Akaashi, but his instincts tell him that the other assassin is a priority. When he vgest to him, the man does not move, but that doesn’t mean he is harmless. Ready to protect himself, Koutarou takes off the assassin’s mask. Underneath he sees unseeing, misted eyes and almost green complexion of a man who tried to kill him. He checks for pulse. There is none. There is, however a knife through his heart. Poisoned, probably judging from the colour of the man’s face. So Akaashi saved Koutarou in the end.

Akaashi…

The shot!

Koutarou whirls around and runs to Akaashi who is lying quietly a few meters to the left. He is applying pressure to his side and Koutarou can see the blood seeping through his fingers.

“Damn, Akaashi.” He whispers, panic dominating all his thoughts.

“Akaashi, don’t do this to me, please!”

The assassin looks at him calmly.

“Bokuto-san. Don’t panic. I am simply loosing blood, but I think he hasn’t hit anything vital. Please, do not take me to hospital, that would be a bit inconvenient…” Here, he stops, probably because of the pain.

“I’ll take you somewhere safe, Akaashi, alright? Just hold on, hold on and talk to me.”

He doesn’t wait for an answer, he simply jumps up and spreads his wings, carrying Akaashi bridal-style and hoping that he reaches home in time.

*

“Bokuto, what is our fourth rule of living together?” Kuroo asks, looking at Koutarou frantically searching for a towel, something, anything to stop the bleeding.

“No bloody assassins in the lab.” Koutarou replies, absent-mindedly.

“Who is laying on the table?” Kuroo continues, his tone seemingly innocent.

“A bleeding assassin.” Akaashi replies.

“Semantics.” Kuroo retorts and comes nearer to the table on which Koutarou laid Akaashi the moment he got back. “This rule was created after your first meeting by the way. I somehow knew it would be relevant sooner or later. Nice to meet you, I’m Kuroo Tetsuroo, the more intelligent part of this hero team.”

Koutarou finally hands Akaashi a towel and the assassin accepts it gratefully.

“I’m Akaashi Keiji, the villain part of this wonder-duo, or rather wonder trio, as it seems. The pleasure is mine.” He replies and puts the warm towel to his injured side.”I will need help with this wound, I know how to treat it, but I lack the strength and focus to do it myself. Blood-loss, you know.”

Kuroo nods.

“I will do what I can. Just guide me, alright? I did have a bit of anatomy at the uni, but I’ve never had to work on a feeling, live patient. So if I hurt you or stab you kidney, please let me know.”

“Thank you.”

The next hour, Koutarou stands useless, watching as Akaashi guides Kuroo through treating gun wounds 101. They take out the bullet and everything. Koutarou allows Akaashi’s calm instructions to wash over him, he doesn’t understand every second word, so he focuses on Akaashi’s face. He looks tired, but professional as well. He would be a good doctor, Koutarou decides.

Afterwards, Kuroo leaves he lab, muttering something about being too tired and having to talk to Kenma and Koutarou is left alone with Akaashi.

“Thank you for saving me, Bokuto-san.” The assassin says, quietly.

“Are you kidding? You saved me! You took down the other guy, and… I don’t know why, Akaashi.”

Akaashi sits up instead of replying.

Koutarou waits and offers his arm in case Akaashi wants to stand up, but the man shakes his head.

“I had to save you, Bokuto-san. You are my hero after all.”

What?

“When I entered the League, I was given a number and a mask. ‘Pick your sigil’ they have said. I really didn’t want to be anything, I wanted everything to end, sometimes it seemed like me being dead was what was best for Hinata… And then I saw you.”

“Me? How” When?”

Akaashi chuckled at that.

“There was some amateur video on YouTube – _The Owler saves a couple in the port_ , or something.”

“Oooh, one of my first appearances!”

Akaashi nods, a gentle smile on his face.

“Yes. I’ve looked at you then and I thought – _this guy does some good with what he is given_. I was sure your wings were genuine, you were too awkward with how you used them for them to be mechanic, and I was so impressed. Or rather, inspired…” Here, Akaashi looks down at his hands, fidgeting – an endearing trait Koutarou notices only now.

Then, it hits him.

“Wait, you chose an owl because of me?”

Akaashi is quiet and pale, but his expression says everything.

Koutarou simply kisses him, because really, _wow_.

And the best thing?

Akaashi kisses him back.

*

Epilogue

*

“Okay, so team shrimp won, can we go now?” Kuroo moans into the walkie talkie, but Koutarou ignores him.

He and Akaashi are still in the stands, clapping their hands as Hinata and Kageyama, and the rest of their team bow to the audience. Hinata has just taken part in his first volleyball competition and this is something Koutarou couldn’t miss. He is Hinata’s honorary uncle.

He waits for the boy to see him and Akaashi and they both wave at him. The boy practically beams.

Akaashi has sent him a text before, saying that they have an important hero job to do and they wouldn’t be able to stay and talk, but they will watch the match. They kept their word and really, Hinata seems to be simply ecstatic to see them.

“I hope I will be able to make him smile like that more. Him and Natsu both.” Akaashi muses and Koutarou puts his arm around him.

“Don’t worry. We will kick your bosses' asses, then we will kick the evil organization’s ass and then we can adopt them.” He says, grinning. He doesn’t want to leave, but really, for the greater good, it is better if they both disappear now.

They make their way to the big truck few streets to the left from the stadium. Before they can get in, the window rolls down and an irritated Kuroo glares at them.

“Done being doting parents? Can we please drive now? I’m pretty sure they are already tracking us now.”

“They are not, I checked.” Kenma supplies from the shotgun seat and Koutarou smiles at them both. He and Akaashi both get into the back, trying not to disturb any of the equipment Kuroo and Kenma gathered there.

“Alright, so, let’s go! We are like the best team ever. Like Avengers, or Justice League!” Koutarou exclaims.

“Right. I always thought myself to be more of a Q type of a guy.” Kuroo says.

“True, but I’m more James Bond-ish than Bokuto-san.” Koutarou moans at that.

“Well, he is clearly your Bond girl.” Kuroo replies.

And in good spirits, the four of them leave Tokyo. Koutarou knows that the four of them against the whole band of assassins and an evil organization on top of that is risky, but he is confident in their chances. They are young, strong, they have wonderful support- Kuroo and Kenma individually are great, but put together they are a force to be reckoned with, and Koutarou and Akaashi are a perfect team. They can do this. 

First, Singapore.

Koutarou squeezes Akaashi’s hand and gets a wonderful smile in return.

Yup, they can definitely do this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey,
> 
> Thank you for reading so far! I apologize for copious amounts of references, especially DC ones.
> 
> I also wanted to say that I realized that I mostly write aus for these two, because we have such wodnerful canonical fics for them that really, I couldn't even compare, so I'm going to spam AO3 with numerous AUs, it seems.
> 
> Like i wrote before, this whole fic was inspired by suguru's art, in particular this one work: [ Check it out!](https://suguru.tumblr.com/post/182537267362/anyone-remember-the-supervillain-akaashi-au#notes)
> 
> Their art is great in general, but this one really spoke to me :)
> 
> Once again, thanks for reading and for comments!


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